Suzuki Motor Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State of Gujarat in India to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) and the batteries to power them. Suzuki plans to invest approximately 150 billion yen (104.4 billion rupees/$1.24 billion) to achieve this.
The plan involves increasing production capacity for battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturing and the construction of a vehicle recycling plant by 2025. Suzuki will also build a new factory for the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries near its existing plant in Gujarat by 2026.
The investment is believed to fund the development of a new mid-size electric crossover/SUV that will be built at Suzuki’s Gujarat plant. This new vehicle, which will be derived from Toyota’s 40PL global platform, will be sold as part of the Maruti brand in India and as a Toyota model for international markets.
The new factory is expected to have an annual production volume of around 125,000 cars for both Maruti Suzuki and Toyota. It’s expected that 60,000 units will be for the Indian market, 25,000 for Japan and 40,000 for Europe.
The MOU was signed recently at the India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi, India, in the presence of the Japanese and Indian prime ministers.
Mr Toshihiro Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corporation Representative Director and President, said: “Suzuki’s future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars. We will continue active investment in India to realise a self-reliant India (Atma-nirbhar Bharat).”
